My original Transient Echoes by J.N. Chaney audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
In the Amber Project we left Terry in a new world after he closed the rift, which will be called the Second Jolt. This story starts three years later, in the year 2350. There are two parallel stories in this book. On one hand, Terry is scouting around the new place were he got trapped and where the variant came from, and on the other hand, his friends John and Mei are investigating what could have happened to Terry, and whether he may still be alive. Mei leads an investigation team on the place where the Jolts took place, to check why there is an increasing radiation in this area and to investigate a new power source. The increasing radiation will be the main issue that will prevent them to get to the exact place where the Jolts originated, and where Terry got lost.
The style of this book is completely different to the first one, keeping the story fresh. It is more slowly paced and we are presented with two parallel stories. Chaney knows how to keep us interested though, since in both stories there are mysteries to be revealed, and we accompany the characters in their way to finding the truth. I think this is one of the aspects that I enjoyed most of this book: investigating and discovering things along with the characters, making hypothesis now and then. When an author gets this from their readers, I think it is a complete success. Chaney really knows how slowly unfold the truth and keep us interested until the very end.
Another strong point is how the characters are built. We are not given a zillion details about them but they are alive, they feel human, and one can easily connect with them.
I was surprised about this book being narrated by someone else than the first book, and it took me a while to get used to Steve Barnes’ husky voice (in a way I felt that somebody was whispering in my ear), but his speech is clear and he successfully transmitted the characters’ emotions.
This is a transition book, and there is still a lot to know about the world where Terry now lives. Transition books are hard to build, since you need to keep your readers interested while going from A to B. The two parallel stories helped to create this bridge, and the story was cleverly constructed.
Something that made me doubt a bit is that days seem to have the same duration on Earth and on the planet where Terry lives. As I have said, there is still a lot to be revealed about this new world, and I do hope we will get the answers to our questions. Building a transition book is difficult, but a good ending is even more difficult. Let’s see what Chaney comes up with. I am impatient.
My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.
I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.
